Old Scars, Future Hearts
by One More Disaster
Summary: "Go Your Own Way" 'verse. Brian and Letty had a plan to keep Dom out of prison but an unexpected complication forced them to improvise. Now, he and the Torettos are on the run in Brazil, trying to stay one step ahead of the local crime lord and the best the US could send after them while Letty is doing what she can to help from halfway around the world.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Old Scars, Future Hearts  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any person, place or thing you may recognize. I do, however, own the various OCs.  
 **Rating:** M  
 **Warnings:** language; mentions of inhumane and ethically questionable scientific experiments; moderate D/s implications; mentions of off screen rape, torture and murder; mentions of a past dub-con relationship.  
 **Series:** Go Your Own Way  
 **Spoilers:** _The Fast and the Furious, Fast and Furious, Fast Five,_ character spoilers for _Fast Six_ and _Furious Seven_ , and potential spoilers for _2 Fast, 2 Furious  
_ **Pairings:** Dominic Toretto/Brian O'Conner, Vince/Rosa and a couple of OMC/OFC; implied onetime non-con OMCs/Mia Toretto; mentions of past Dominic Toretto/Letty Ortiz, Brian O'Conner/Mia Toretto and dub-con Lucas Hobbs/Brian O'Conner.  
 **Characters:** Brian O'Conner and Dominic and Mia Toretto; with appearances by Lucas Hobbs, Hernan Reyes and the rest of the cast of _Fast Five_ , and mentions of Letty Ortiz, Owen and Ian Shaw, Agents Bilkins, Penning and Stasiak, Sophie Trinh, Monica Fuentes, Suki and Jimmy, Leon and Jesse and nine OCs.  
 **Summary:** Brian and Letty had a plan to keep Dom out of prison but an unexpected complication forced them to improvise. Now, he and the Torettos are on the run in Brazil, trying to stay one step ahead of the local crime lord and the best the US could send after them while Letty is doing what she can to help from halfway around the world.  
 **Word Count:** 12,783 and counting  
 **Author's Note:** Okay, so here it is. Finally. The official sequel to "It's Not Easy". I am so sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. When I killed my flashdrive three years ago, I lost everything that I had written for this story in addition to losing the second half of the original.

Additionally, the way that "It's Not Easy" ended didn't work with what I had originally planned for the sequel. Therefore, even if I hadn't lost what I had previously written, I would have had to start from scratch anyway. Not only that, but one of the oneshot pieces I wrote also forced me to rethink what I was going to do for this story.

Originally, Letty was going to help with the bus break and be there for the Rio heist. However that obviously didn't work out, considering what happened in "New Trouble". So I had to think up a new plan. I'm mostly happy with what I've decided to do.

Unfortunately, most of the changes are still going to be minor, behind the scenes things that don't affect the overall plot of _Fast Five._ There will be some changes starting when Hobbs finally catches up to them, but until then, the story will mostly follow the movie while going into detail about what Brian is thinking during the whole thing, as well as expanding on some scenes in the movie to take advantage of things we didn't see on screen. (For example, the scene in the warehouse where Dom breaks free to fight the goons while Brian is still hanging from the scaffolding. Did anyone else wonder how Dom took advantage of that before letting Brian down after the scene faded to black? :D )

Anyway, this story is NOT complete yet, however, I am far enough ahead that I decided to go ahead and start posting it anyway. Because of that, updates will only be once a week on either Sunday or Monday, depending on when I work.

Oh. One last thing. When I started writing this series, _Fast Six_ hadn't even come out yet, much less _Furious Seven._ Therefore, when I started this particular piece of the series, Owen's brother was still known as Ian. I know the new movie changed his name to Deckard, but I am ignoring that, and sticking with Ian as the older Shaw brother.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think.  
Fae

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 **Word Count:** 3,232

Chapter One  
Brian got out of the Skyline and looked up at the favela in disbelief. "You sure this is the right place?" he muttered to Chase, even as Mia asked him the same question.

 _"River and Jayne checked it out last week,"_ Chase confirmed.

Brian merely shrugged at Mia. He couldn't very well tell her that he'd had friends check it out and confirm that this was where Vince was actually living. He went around to the trunk and slung one bag over his shoulder. He kept the other one in one hand while reaching for Mia's hand with the other.

The two of them had spent a lot of time together while waiting for Dom's trial. They had been able to work through the awkwardness of Brian hooking up and were on good terms now. She was as much his little sister as she was Dom's and he loved her for it.

Things had been tense right after they had broken Dom off that bus. Brian had been skittish and unsure of his place in Dom's life, considering Dom had broken up with him before the trial. He was not ashamed to admit that he had hid behind Mia for about a week before she finally got tired of it and dragged Dom out for a drive one night.

Brian didn't know what Mia had said to her brother, but whatever it was, Dom had all but gotten down on his knees. He hadn't begged, because Dom didn't beg, but he had definitely groveled for Brian's forgiveness.

Of course Brian had forgiven him. His entire life was so wrapped up in Dom that there was no way he could have done otherwise. Mia and the others all thought that he had forgiven Dom too easily, but they didn't understand. They couldn't understand. Ali was the only one who possibly could, but while she came close, she still didn't fully understand it.

Things had been good for about a week before they caught the attention of the local federalis. They had split in a hurry, but Dom had met Brian's gaze over the tops of the cars and silently ordered him to protect Mia.

Brian had nodded once before watching Dom get into the Charger and drive off, leading the federalis away from Brian and Mia. As Brian had driven in the opposite direction, Mia had clenched her fingers so tightly together that her knuckles turned white.

From then on, the three of them kept their distance, traveling in the same general direction, but far enough away that they weren't in danger of being caught together. Every couple of weeks or so, they spent two nights in the same town, but didn't dare risk more than that. Dom and Brian were large targets on their own. Together, they were practically flashing a neon sign.

When they were together, the two of them never outright flaunted their relationship around town. That would have been a huge calling card to anyone who cared to look. At the same time, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that neither man was Mia's boyfriend. Most of the time, their presence alone had been enough, but once, up in Ecuador, it hadn't been.

She had come back to the motel sobbing and bleeding. Dom had wrapped his arms around her, looking lost and helpless, unsure what to do. Brian had watched the two of them in silence before storming out of the room. He gathered a first aid kit and went back into the room, handing it over and helping Mia clean up.

He waited until the siblings had fallen asleep, tangled up in each other, before slipping out of the room. With Chase's help, he had tracked down the men and viciously slaughtered all three of them, making them pay for hurting his family. After slipping back into the room and cleaning up in the bathroom, Brian had spent the rest of the night standing guard with a gun in hand.

They were supposed to stay another night, but after what happened, Dom and Brian had reached the silent agreement to leave the next morning. As they headed out to the cars, they heard some of the locals talking about the three mutilated corpses found in an alley. Neither one said anything, but Dom sent him a grateful look while Mia slipped her hand into his.

After that, Brian treated Mia as his girlfriend, no matter where they were, hovering protectively and doting on her. She was starting to chafe under his close scrutiny, but there was no way that he was taking any chances with her safety again. So here they were, holding hands as they made their way up into the favela.

About halfway up, Brian got the sense that they were being watched and he squeezed Mia's hand in warning. He wasn't terribly surprised. He was too damn white to be native, which threw suspicion on Mia by association. The closer they got to the top, however, the more hostile the stares became, until they were surrounded by at least a dozen guys with guns.

He glanced around, taking stock of the situation. He could take them, easily, but there were too many innocents around, not to mention Mia, who could easily be turned into a hostage. Instead of engaging, he tugged Mia's hand. "Come on," he said, taking a step back down the path.

Truthfully, he never thought he'd be glad to hear Vince's voice. But he was, as the other man came down a side stair and told the locals to back off. Mia moved in to give him a hug and Brian was glad to see that she hadn't completely retreated into herself.

He and Vince exchanged a tense handshake and Brian was inwardly amused at the male posturing Vince was showing off. The other man had been threatened by him back in LA and it looked like six years wasn't enough to help him get over it.

To some extent, it was understandable. Brian had almost completely taken over Vince's spot in the Toretto family, even if it had been by accident. He had never meant to push Vince out. It was just that while the others had mostly accepted him, Vince never had. Vince had been confrontational and territorial, even when the top dog told him to stand down.

He knew Vince had mostly just acted like that because Brian was moving in on the girl Vince had been crushing on for years. He wondered what Vince would say when he found out it was Dom and Brian, rather than Brian and Mia.

On the one hand, he suspected Vince would lay off a bit, since they would no longer be competing for Mia's attention- a moot point anyway, since Vince had settled down with some Brazilian chick. On the other hand, he suspected Vince would start taking potshots at the fact that he was willingly bending over for another guy.

Carefully out of Dom's hearing, of course.

Brian didn't care. He was secure enough in who he was; what he was. Vince could say whatever he wanted. Brian would just let it roll right off his back.

Of course the problem was that he was certain that Vince would forget that the fact that Brian was bending over for Dom meant that- Well. _He was bending over for Dom._ Meaning that anything Vince said about Brian, he was also saying about Dom.

And that- That was _not_ copacetic.

Brian didn't care what anyone said about him. He never had, not even Before. Most of his nicknames had always been some variation of 'Ice' or 'Snow' for the simple fact that- not only was he _very_ white- he never lost his cool. Not when someone talked shit about him to his face. Not when they talked shit about him behind his back.

He took the comments and let them fly right over his head, maintaining a wide ass grin or a cocky smirk, knowing that the combination just pissed off whomever was talking shit about him.

The only times he ever lost his cool was when someone started talking shit about the people he cared about. Growing up, that had been Rome. After LA, Dom and Mia had joined the list. Letty, Leon and Vince had joined the list on the periphery, only because of their importance to Dom and Mia. Miami had added Tej and Suki, even Jimmy, to some extent.

He had stayed in contact with Monica after the Verone op and she had earned a place as well. Ali and Austin had moved to the top very quickly after what they had done for him when he thought eating his gun was the only option he had left. Through them, the rest of Serenity had joined the list as well.

Returning to LA had had Letty joining his list on her own merits, instead of just her importance to the Torettos. Sophie had wormed her way in, too. Penning and Bilkins had earned probationary positions after everything they had done for him and Dom after the Braga op had gone to shit. Stasiak had even started to make his way onto the list, despite their rocky start and the constant one-upmanship they had been doing when Brian first joined the LA office.

Still, not everyone was equal. There were some that he would not hesitate to sacrifice if it meant saving someone else.

Stasiak was at the bottom right now. It was a work in progress. Penning and Bilkins were next, followed by Monica. She had quickly realized that his attention was elsewhere and they had moved into a solid friendship. Sophie was a little higher, mainly because he knew that Monica could mostly take care of herself, while Sophie was still getting her legs under her.

The rest of Serenity, followed by Tej and Rome who were about equal. He knew Rome should probably be higher, but they had drifted apart in the years between getting busted for boosting cars and driving together for Verone.

Suki was above them. God, he loved that girl. She had welcomed him with open arms when he rolled into Miami and had never been bitter about the fact that he kept beating her. She was always a good sport and he loved her for it.

Then came Ali and Austin. He could never repay them for what they had done for him after finding him in London.

And finally his sisters. Mia and Letty. Letty and Mia.

If someone had told him six years ago that the two girls in Dom's crew would become like sisters to him, he would have laughed himself sick. At the time, he had been as deep in denial about his attraction to Dom as he had been about the fact that Dom was the one pulling the hijackings, so he had convinced himself that he had a future with Mia. And Letty-

Shit, he had been more wary of her than he had been of Vince. She was a hard one to read. Not to mention the fact that he was in love with her boyfriend. But both girls had given him their blessing to pursue Dom and they had become the little sisters that he had never known he wanted.

He would smack down anyone and everyone who talked shit about them- or worse, like in Ecuador. Everyone except one person. Because there was one name at the top of his list that would never move.

Dom.

Always Dom. It had been Dom from the moment their eyes locked that day at the store.

Anyone talking shit about Dom would be in for the biggest smackdown he was capable of. They wouldn't know what hit them. Not even the others on his list would be safe if they trashed Dom. And if they weren't safe, then Vince definitely wouldn't be. He may have been on the edge six years ago, but not anymore. He had given up that right when he had abandoned Dom _and_ Mia.

Of course, he had no intention of getting between the two when Letty paid Dom back for leaving her behind. Man had made his bed and he had to lie in it. It may have worked out so that he could have Dom, but it was still the dumbass decision that had led directly to Letty being scooped by the scariest fucking criminal organization Brian had ever had contact with.

It also led to Brian keeping more secrets from Dom, which he loathed, but had no choice.

Still, internal monologue aside (and seriously, he was feeling a bit like a cheesy Bond villain or something), he was glad to see Vince, if only because Mia needed the distraction. Not to mention the fact that they had finally reached a safe-ish haven where they could relax their guard, just a little.

Brian and Mia followed Vince into a small, but well-cared for house where they were introduced to Vince's wife and son. Brian allowed himself a soft smile at the obvious love between Vince and Rosa, and the way that the surly man doted on baby Nico.

Despite the looks that they were getting from their hosts, Brian couldn't find it in himself to care as he shoveled food into his mouth. He was starving. They had had to take a detour through Bolivia and Paraguay before finally being able to make their way across Brazil to reach Rio and they had been running low on cash and food. As a result, he had given as much of his share to Mia as he could get away with without being slapped.

So yeah. He was starving. So suck it, Vince. And while you're at it, take your pity and shove it where the sun don't shine. He mentally flipped Vince off, but was too busy eating to be bothered to do so in person. Not to mention the fact that he didn't feel like flipping Rosa off at the same time. She hadn't done anything to deserve it.

Later, after they ate, Mia with Rosa to tuck Nico into bed. Brian watched her go with a small smile before being distracted by the beer Vince offered him. The two of them sat at the table in silence, neither one really having anything to say to each other.

Brian caught sight of the vivid scars on Vince's arm and mentally winced. He had been so terrified that Vince would die out there on the side of the road; terrified that Dom would be more interested in beating him for being a cop instead of letting Brian save Vince's life. He shook off that line of thought.

He and Dom had cleared the air between them. So had he and Letty; he and Mia. Maybe it was time to clear the air with Vince since Leon had disappeared and Jesse was gone.

"So why Rio, Vince?" he asked.

He knew a little. Letty had started to fill him in on the basics, but they had gotten distracted by Dom threatening one of Brian's witnesses. By the time Brian had solved that problem, they had run right into another snag and another and another and they had just never gotten back to the conversation. It hadn't been all that important in the grand scheme of things.

"After you screwed us in LA, you mean?" Vince asked, anger in his voice.

Brian merely sent a pointed look at the scars on Vince's arm and the other man let out a snarl.

"I freefell through South America, hitting every hellhole on the way down until I ended up here. Met Rosa. Don't know what I'dda done without her. She saved me. Been savin' me ever since."

Brian just nodded slowly. Domestication looked good on him; had settled him. Now if only they could move beyond the childish posturing and into- if not friends, then at least non-hostile in-laws. He spared a passing thought to wondering if the relationship between him and Vince was any indication of what the relationship between Dom and Rome would be if they ever met.

He shook off a shudder at the thought and looked back up at Vince.

"I won't apologize," he said. Not to you. "What I did- I was doing my job, Vince. Right up until I realized it was you guys. I honestly didn't think that Dom was stupid enough to do something like that, though finding out you were involved honestly didn't surprise me."

He smirked slightly and to his surprise, Vince smirked back.

"But I made my choice, Vince. I threw my entire life away for Dom. Not just once, twice. And if I had been any other cop, you would have died on the side of the truck and Dom would have been sitting in LOMPOC for the last six years instead of stirring up shit in the DR, or helping bring down one of Mexico's biggest cartels. And I can't- Dom believing me over you- That's on him. Not me. If you're still pissed about that, take it up with him when he gets here."

"I managed to piece most of that together on my own, thanks. But knowing all of that doesn't make me like you any better."

"I never expected it to. We're not friends. I don't think we ever would have been, even if we had met under different circumstances. I'm ice and you're too much fire for us to get along. But for Mia and Dom's sake, do you think we can put outright hostility behind us? We're on the same side now. And I ain't goin' anywhere until Dom sends me away."

Vince narrowed his eyes, but Mia came back into the room before either of them could say anything. "So listen. There's this job coming up," he said, and Brian heard the silent agreement in the change of subject. "I was hopin' Dom would be here, but it's clean enough we can do it without him."

Brian and Mia exchanged glances and Vince got a little defensive.

"It's a good gig," he said. "Couple of high end cars, easy targets. Guy I know's putting together a team to swipe 'em. Just need a few more warm bodies."

"I don't know," Brian said, taking a drink.

"Look, the way the car scene is down here, we can unload 'em quick and get top dollar. It's easy money. And from where I'm sittin', it looks like you both could use the payday."

Brian winced and looked away, tightening his grip on his beer. Vince wasn't wrong. They could use the payout from an easy job. They couldn't rely on Vince's hospitality for long. That wasn't fair to him and Rosa. Besides, Brian hated accepting charity. Always had, all the way back to being a punk kid with an absent father and a druggie mother.

He looked over at Mia, gauging her reaction. She shrugged slightly, but he could see in her eyes that she was interested.

"I promised Dom we'd lie low," he said. It was a half-hearted protest at best and he folded when she turned on the puppy dog eyes. "All right, fine. But if Dom kills me, I'm coming back and haunting your ass," he warned.

She just grinned and kissed his cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Hey, Everyone. I just wanted to say thanks for all of the favorites and follows this story has gotten in the last week. I'm glad y'all like it enough to do so. Here's chapter 2. Let me know what y'all think.  
 **Word Count:** 2,711/?

* * *

Chapter Two  
The next morning, Brian and Mia were on a train snaking its way through the Brazilian desert. Mia had been eager to actually do something, so Brian had agreed to the job, despite his misgivings. She was busy looking through one of those travel magazines while Brian stared out the window. He may look like he wasn't paying attention, but he was fully aware of everything around them.

" _Mal says they pulled another low level job last night,_ " Chase said. " _Nothing big enough to catch major attention. It seems they're still working through the kinks of a new team. Rajah is quickly climbing the ranks. So far, all she's had to do is drive, so all of her other tricks are still in the bag."_

Good. That was good. It meant that Owen still had no idea just who he had scooped into his organization a few months ago. It meant Letty was safe, for the moment, though with that group, that could change very quickly.

 _"I got some news you might like,_ " Misaki said. _"Traffic cams picked up Coyote on his way to meet up with his contacts. He wasn't alone."_

Brian breathed out a sigh of relief. He still wasn't sure that taking this job was a good idea. Vince wasn't wrong, he and Mia _did_ need the pick-me-up, but Vince was better known for his temper than his brain. Knowing Dom would be there to keep Vince in line was an answer to prayer.

 _"Ten minutes to rendezvous,"_ Misaki said.

Brian blinked and turned to Mia. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Travel guide."

"Yeah?" Brian said, taking the guide when she offered it.

"Mm-hmm," Mia said, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

He raised an eyebrow and began flipping through the pages, reading off the cities. "Tokyo, Moscow, Goa."

"You know what all these places have in common?" Mia asked, leaning forward across the table.

No extradition, he thought. He had looked into all of that when putting together the plan to bust Dom off that bus. "What?" he asked instead, letting her have her fun.

"No extradition," she whispered, leaning even farther across the table.

He grinned and leaned forward to meet her halfway, rubbing their noses together. "I love you," he said. She knew what he meant, but he was putting on a show, just in case.

She smiled back before looking over his shoulder towards the back of the car. "Here we go," she said.

They both stood and headed towards the back. His mind went into overdrive when he saw the two federal agents. _Shit. I am going to kill Vince. Then Dom is going to kill me. Goddammit!_

Mia bumped into the conductor and distracted him while Brian borrowed his security card and slid it through the reader Vince's friends had provided. And really, that should have been the dumbass' first clue that something wasn't right. Regular car thieves didn't have easy access to that sort of tech. They didn't need it.

It had thrown up a couple of red flags for Brian, but not enough to make him call off the job. He just figured they had some other schemes in addition to the cars. He made a new card and Mia used it to let them into the first freighter. It was raising more red flags now that he had more pieces to the puzzle.

If only it weren't too late to back out. Well, they could. But that would leave Dom and Vince to take the fall and while he may not care overly much about Vince, there was no way he was leaving Dom to the mercy of whoever was behind this.

They moved into the next freighter and found the three cars. He got out his phone and called Vince. "Yeah, we found 'em. Yeah, second to last freighter." He hung up and smashed the glass on the key case with his elbow. He pulled out the three sets and studied the tags.

"What? What is it?" Mia asked, reading the apprehension he allowed to show on his face.

"DEA tags. These cars have been seized."

 _"Shit,_ " Chase said. _"I'll let Simon know. He'll pass it on to Sharpie and the others."_

 _"You know this is going to turn up the heat you've been able to avoid so far, right?"_

Brian ignored Misaki as he and Mia began prepping the cars for the boost, removing the covers and matching keys to the vehicles. As they worked, someone outside began using cutting torches to cut through the side of the wall. He cut through the last tie and stood back with Mia, waiting. Once the metal was torn away, Brian's gaze was immediately locked on Dom. He felt himself grinning as Mia rushed to hug her brother.

"Look who showed up," Vince said, stepping into the car.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're okay," Mia said.

Brian also got a hug from Dom, though it wasn't as long as either would have liked, since Brian still had to play Mia's boyfriend around the Brazilians. While Vince and the others began hooking the first car up for the lift, Brian took a moment to talk to Dom.

"Thought I told you to lay low," Dom said in a low voice that wouldn't carry to the others.

Brian shrugged. "We were running on fumes. I had to make a call." He held Dom's stare for several long moments before the twitchy guy interrupted them.

"Hey, quit talking. We only got a two minute window."

Dom looked at Twitchy. "Let's go, Vince," he said.

Twitchy stared back for a moment as Vince got into the car. He said something in Portuguese. The only part Brian understood was 'GT40.'

Brian looked at the man, his mind racing. As Vince got pulled out onto the trailer and lowered to the ground, he stepped closer to Dom. "Someone ain't tellin' us the whole story," he said in a low voice. "These cars have been seized and there are at least two DEA agents on the train."

He stepped back and met Dom's gaze. The other man nodded once as Twitchy and Muscle One began prepping the GT40. Twitchy took a step towards the driver's side, but Dom held out his arm, stopping Twitchy in his tracks. "Ladies first," he said.

Mia didn't hesitate before moving to the car, as if it were the plan the whole time. Thank god for smart girls. Muscle One made a move to stop her.

"Hey!" Brian snapped, moving to intercept him. They stared at each other for a long moment before Mia interrupted them.

"Hey!" she said.

 _"This car suits me better,_ " Chase translated for him.

Twitchy nodded, reluctantly, and Muscle One backed off. Brian moved closer to Mia. "See you, Baby," he said.

Twitchy and Muscle One crouched down to finish the last of the hookup.

 _"Hey, we're all going to the same place. You'll get the car there."_

Brian was a little bit in love with Chase just then. He hated not being able to understand the local language, but Portuguese wasn't something he had ever learned. Hadn't thought he'd ever need it.

Dom stepped up next to the car and opened the passenger's side door, leaning in to speak to Mia. "Change of plans," he said, meeting Brian's gaze over the top of the car. "Wait for my call." Mia nodded and Dom closed the door, tapping the top of the roof. "Let's go."

The Mustang was transferred onto the trailer and lowered to the ground. Brian loosened up, getting ready for a fight, knowing things would go south as soon as Twitchy realized she was driving the opposite direction as Vince.

Sure enough, as Mia disappeared into the distance, Twitchy got even twitchier. "Where is she going?" he demanded, suspiciously. When neither of them answered, he pulled a gun on Dom. "Where is she going?"

Dom pushed the gun out of his face, causing Twitchy's finger to tighten on the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off the roof of car, barely missing Brian, who had immediately moved to engage Muscle One, not giving the goon a chance to come to his boss's aid.

Twitchy got close enough to the opening to shout something at the driver of the truck.

 _"Go after the girl! Hurry!_ " Chase translated.

Brian's eyes narrowed. There was no way that asshole was getting Mia. He tensed, prepared to reveal more than he wanted to around these guys, but before he had to, Dom was there, pinning Muscle One against the wall. The two of them locked eyes for a long moment before Brian went leaping out of the freighter, landing on the tilted platform just before it pulled too far away.

He slid down farther than he wanted, but caught hold of one of the cables. He went flying in the breeze, struggling to get his feet under him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Muscle One go flying out of the freighter and gave a mental sigh of relief. That meant Dom only had to deal with Twitchy.

He pulled himself closer to the cab, hand over hand on the cable. He braced himself and wrapped the cable around Muscle Two's neck, tossing the guy out of the truck. He slid inside the window and punched the driver in the face. The two of them wrestled and the close quarters weren't exactly in Brian's favor. He was too tall. Driver got in a lucky hit and put Brian on his back across the top of the platform.

Driver grabbed one of the cutting torches and Brian fought to keep the flame away from his face. He got one leg up enough to kick Driver and sat up quickly, following up with a punch that left Driver slumping over the steering wheel and the truck on a collision course with the side of the train.

Brian grabbed the steering wheel, trying to control the truck enough to hit the embankment just right to put the truck into the side of the train, rather than just bouncing right off. He got tossed around a bit in the collision and shook his head. He gave a mental wince, knowing there was no way the Agents on board would have missed that. Not even DEA Agents were that thick.

He heard something dripping and looked over and down to see oil leaking near the open flame from the cutting torch.

"Shit," he muttered, scrambling backwards, desperately trying to put some space between himself and the imminent explosion. He was halfway out the window when the flame reached the oil and was nearly flung off the truck, barely managing to catch hold of the frame and hold on.

A glance farther down the track revealed the fast approaching bridge. "Shit," he said again before glancing back at the open freighter, unsurprised to see Dom standing there, checking on him. "Bridge!" he called. "There's a bridge!"

He could only hope that Dom could hear him over the roar of the train. Dom disappeared back inside the freighter and Brian tried to pull himself up into a better position on the truck. He got a foothold on something for a second before the metal gave way and he nearly fell off again.

He was dangling there with one hand, less than a foot from the ground, when he heard gunshots from the freighter. He glanced back in concern and renewed his grip on the truck, pulling himself up to the roof of the cab. As he got into a slightly less precarious position, he saw Dom drive the last car out of the freighter and raised an eyebrow.

Again, Dom called _him_ crazy?

He looked ahead at the bridge, mentally gauging the distance. "Come on, come on," he chanted under his breath, glancing over to see where Dom was just as the other man drove the Stingray up onto the embankment next to the train.

He glanced ahead to the bridge again, warily, as Dom maneuvered into place. At the last possible second, he leaped from the truck onto the back of the car, barely managing to grab hold of the headrests before sliding off.

Dom swerved to avoid the bridge just as the truck went up in a spectacular fireball after hitting the metal. Brian glanced back over his shoulder with wide eyes. "Damn," he muttered, turning back to the front. Dom drove faster, trying to outrun the flames, and Brian's eyes widened even more when he saw the cliff that was fast approaching.

"Oh, shit," he said again as Dom shifted into the next gear and drove over the edge. Brian pushed himself up into a surfer's stance on the trunk as Dom climbed out of the driver's seat. As the car fell, they both pushed off as hard as they could, trying to get clear.

Brian watched as the car's heavier mass pulled it down faster. It hit the river with a large splash that he probably would have appreciated if he weren't about to follow it. As it was, the only thing he could think was that Dom was going to kill him if the impact of hitting the water from that distance didn't.

It didn't, and the first thing he did once he surfaced was search for Dom, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw his boyfriend a few feet away.

"Had to make a call, huh?" Dom asked, throwing his earlier words back in his face. Brian winced as Dom's eyes narrowed into a glare. "Shitty call, O'Conner. Shitty call."

Brian winced again, but before he could even begin to defend himself, his attention was drawn by the arrival of the military grade vehicles along the bank, along with the small arsenal of weapons aimed in their direction. The two of them exchanged looks.

"Out of the frying pan," Brian muttered.

"Into the fire," Dom finished. "You are in so much trouble for this, O'Conner," he added as they began swimming towards the bank.

"Yeah, I know," Brian said with a sigh. "Just let me kill Vince first. Dumbass needs new friends."

Dom looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Not you and Mia, obviously," he corrected quickly. "DT's were the only good friends he had. Whatever he's gotten involved in since landing in Rio, though." He nodded decisively. "Definitely needs new friends."

"Brian," Dom said as they neared the bank.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Right. Sorry."

They waded out of the water, their hands raised in surrender in an attempt to keep one of the yahoos with guns getting trigger happy on their asses. Two goons lowered their weapons and came over, patting them down for weapons.

Brian kept his face carefully blank, even as his mind was calculating the odds of being able to take out all- he counted quickly- thirteen goons without getting shot. Those odds would be a lot higher if he were alone, but they dropped significantly when he took Dom into account. Dodging bullets was a lot easier when you didn't have to worry about them hitting someone else if they missed you. He would have to be far more precise, with far less margin for error if he wanted to keep Dom from being shot as well.

So he did nothing as the goon squad secured his hands behind his back, shoved a sack over his head and pushed him forward. He faked a stumble, even as he was reaching out with his other senses to make up for the loss of sight. He was unceremoniously dumped inside a vehicle and let out a soft grunt when he felt Dom land on top of him.

 _"I sent Jayne out to get eyes on Persia,_ " Chase said. _"He'll keep her safe until you and Simba get back to her."_

Good. That was one less thing he had to worry about. With Blake keeping tabs on Mia, he'd be able to focus all of his attention to getting himself and Dom out of the mess that Vince's friends had gotten them tangled up in. At least both of them were together, instead of separate cars. He always felt more at ease when he knew exactly where his boyfriend was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** So first of all, I apologize this is a little late. I worked both yesterday and Sunday and didn't have time to get it posted. But here it is now. Second of all, this didn't turn out how I anticipated at all. I really wanted to have fun with Brian hanging from those chains while Dom was free. It started out kinda hot, but then- I don't know. It just went in a completely different direction than what I wanted. Hopefully you aren't too disappointed.  
 **Word Count:** 2,420/?

* * *

Chapter Three  
They drove long enough for Brian's shirt to dry and his jeans to reach that uncomfortable stage between wet and fully dry. Chase had let him know that Mia was okay and had found refuge in the favela, which left him free to worry about himself and Dom.

Right now, he was leaning more towards waiting until he found out who and what they were dealing with before doing anything. He couldn't accurately access the situation if he didn't have all the variables. That's what had led to Letty ending up undercover with Owen Shaw.

If he had known about the connection between Owen and Braga, he never would have let her anywhere near the case. At the very least, he would have been a little craftier about the whole thing and he certainly wouldn't have let her make the run alone.

He honestly hadn't thought much of Braga's abilities and even less about the FBI's, so he hadn't been as careful in his preparation as he should have been. If, in addition to having Austin convert Letty, he had also planned everything out to the smallest detail, then Letty wouldn't be with Owen right now and none of them would be on the run in this fucking hell hole. Ecuador never would have happened and Vince wouldn't be getting them involved in shit they had no business dealing with.

Instead, they'd be back in Echo Park right now, enjoying a nice barbeque, with the whole family gathered around.

But no. He had been arrogant. They all had been. He and Ali had thought they could handle a simple drug lord on their own and they hadn't called in reinforcements. Now they were split up, with Chase, Misaki, Blake and Rakel backing him up down here in Brazil; Adrien, Marta and Josie working with Penning's team back in LA; and Ali and Austin backing Letty up over in London.

He wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this mess without losing anyone.

Truthfully, he was the most worried about Letty. Outside of something happening to Dom, he wasn't afraid of much, but the Shaws fucking terrified him. There was no way that Owen was human. He and Letty joked about the fact that he had ice in his veins, what with his fearless way of throwing himself headfirst into danger, but Owen Shaw was made of ice.

He showed no emotion, treating his team as disposable pieces to be traded out when one screwed up. He was ruthless and calculating and everything that Brian had become After, only without the excuse of having someone fuck with his brain. He was a true sociopath, not just the fascimile of one that the Center had turned Brian and Ali into.

His brother was even worse.

Brian had only met Ian Shaw three times, but every time he left, he felt contaminated and slimy and ended up taking an hour long shower, scrubbing until his skin was red.

And his arrogance had put Letty directly in their sphere. Forget what Dom would do to him when he found out. If anything happened to Letty, he would never forgive himself.

The vehicle came to a stop inside what he guessed was a large warehouse. Dom was pulled out first, followed by Brian. He struggled, making them work for it, but not doing anything to raise suspicions. He was pretty sure all thirteen of the original goons were there, which would be fine, but he couldn't discount the probability that there had been additional goons waiting at the warehouse.

Without being able to see, he wasn't going to take that chance. Maybe if it was just himself, but not with Dom there.

The goons got in several blows as they recuffed his hands in front of his body, then strung him up from the ceiling, his toes just barely scraping the ground. He subtly tested the strength of the cuffs and knew he could break out if he needed, but he'd save that for a last resort, after he'd gotten the information he needed.

Someone punched him in the stomach one last time before pulling the sack off his head. He let his gaze dart around the warehouse, cataloging the goons, the exits, cover and possible weapons. He gave a mental sigh of relief at the crappy workmanship. That meant whoever was behind this wasn't taking them seriously. He probably thought they were just a pair of gearheads who were in over their head.

Good. He could work with that.

He finally glanced over to his left where Dom was hanging from the same scaffolding that he was. Dom looked a little roughed up and a lot pissed. He was pretty sure that anger was seventy-five, twenty-five towards the goons. Maybe sixty, forty. He hoped. And, seriously. If Dom wanted to be pissed at someone, he should be pissed at his dumbass best friend since the third grade.

This was mostly Vince's fault and there was no way Brian was taking all the responsibility for this fuck up.

A few minutes later, a well dressed, older gentleman entered the warehouse, with Twitchy trailing along in his wake. Great. Brian had hoped that Twitchy had died during the heist, but he supposed that was too much to ask of his particular brand of shitty luck.

"You two stirred up quite a bit of trouble today. Three of my men dead; three DEA agents with them."

Brian held back a wince. That was going to come back to bite them in the ass. He just knew it.

"Of course," the man continued, "this is business. Sometimes things go astray. All I care about is the car. Tell me where it is and I'll let you go."

"The roofing plastic says this guy's full of shit," Brian said, twisting so he could look at Dom.

The man chuckled. "I don't know how you do business in your part of the world, but here in Rio, I like it when all parties know what they're up against."

"That's funny," Dom said. "'cause it works both ways."

The man smirked. "You know," he said, moving closer to Dom, "I hear your sister is very beautiful."

Neither one said anything, although Brian was mentally plotting this guy's demise. He knew Dom was plotting something of his own. No one talked about Mia like that and got away with it. Not after what happened up in Ecuador. If this asshole so much as looked at Mia, Brian would cheerfully gouge his eyes out with a plastic spork.

"Wherever she hides, I will find her," the man continued.

Brian jerked in his chains, knowing it was expected of him as her boyfriend. He remained silent, though, not wanting to give anything away.

The man didn't say anything else. He merely turned and left the warehouse. Twitchy gave orders to the rest of the goons. Most of them followed him out of the warehouse, leaving two guys behind. Brian was insulted. Just two guys for the two of them? Dom alone had taken two guys on the train, while Brian had dealt with the two on the truck.

Just because they were chained up now, Twitchy really thought that one a piece would be enough? Brian gave a mental scoff and looked over at Dom. He saw the minute flex of Dom's arms. He nodded once, almost imperceptibly.

With those muscles, it was far more probable that Dom would be able to bust free of the cuffs while it would look more suspicious for Brian to do the same. Also, it'd be more of a challenge to fight while still hanging from this scaffolding. Not much more of a challenge, but a little bit.

Brian looked back at the muscleheads and didn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse for what he was about to do. He lashed out at Muscle Three, kicking him in the face as Dom broke free of his chains and went after Muscle Four, punching him in the jaw.

Muscle Three pulled a gun and aimed it at Dom, who just threw up an arm, knocking Muscle Three's aim off, before pushing the guy back towards Brian. Brian wrapped his hand around the chains to take the pressure off his wrists as he wrapped his legs around Muscle Three's neck. He applied pressure on the carotid artery, squeezing until the man went slack in his grip.

It wouldn't take much to finish the job. A little more pressure and a little twist would snap the guy's neck and he wouldn't be a problem anymore.

But Dom had knocked out Muscle Four and was watching him. Sure, he may have suspected that Brian had had something to do with the three scumbags up in Ecuador, but he didn't know for sure. He didn't know about the darkness that lived inside Brian. He didn't know about the all the blood Brian had on his hands.

He let the guy drop to the ground and met Dom's gaze. They stayed there, staring at each other for a long moment. Brian wondered what was going through Dom's head right now. For once, he couldn't read his boyfriend.

He finally rattled the chains lightly. They needed to get going. Sure, Blake had eyes on Mia, but he wouldn't feel completely at ease until he saw her for himself. "You gonna get me down?" he asked.

"I don't know, O'Conner. Think I kinda like you like this." Dom tilted his head to the side slightly, studying him intently. "At least strung up this way, you can't get your ass into any trouble."

Brian recognized the heat in Dom's eyes and swallowed. "You sure about that?" he asked, rolling his shoulders back and thrusting his hips forward. "I think you'd be surprised."

Dom chuckled slightly. "If anyone could find a way, it'd be you," he agreed. "But before I let you down, I would like to know one thing. What the hell were you thinking? I told you to lie low. Dragging my sister into whatever the fuck this is- That's your idea of lying low?"

"I'm sorry," Brian said, slumping in the chains and hanging his head. "Vince told us about it last night. He said we would be boosting a couple of cars and that we'd be able to get rid of them quick and make some easy money. I wasn't entirely sold, but we were running low. We had no money and little food. We couldn't ask Vince and Rosa to put us up for long; they've got a kid they have to feed. I didn't- I didn't know what else to do."

"Did you know about any of this?"

"Not until it was too late to back out," Brian said. "We were already in position, three minutes to rendezvous when I noticed the agents. If I had known the cars were seized before that, I would have told Vince to fuck off." There were several long moments of silence before he broke it. "I'm sorry I keep screwing up," he whispered.

That's all he ever seemed to do around Dom, starting all the way back in LA, the first time around. The hijacking, Jesse. Mia. Letty. The run to collect Braga. Ecuador. This epic clusterfuck. With all of that stacked against him, he couldn't believe that Dom had actually taken him back, no matter what Mia may have said to him.

He hadn't blamed Dom for breaking up with him. He was a fucking mess and he knew it. It was just a matter of time before Dom realized it, too. He was just waiting for that moment when Dom kicked him to the curb for good this time.

"Hey," Dom said, moving closer and standing in front of him. He released the chains, letting Brian drop to the ground, then gathered the blond in his arms. "You don't keep screwing up, Bri," he said. "You made a decision that was sound based on the information you had. I'm not mad at you. Not really. I'm frustrated because the two most important people in my life keep ending up in danger and I can't seem to be able to do anything about it."

"It's not your fault, Dom," Brian said, letting his eyes close and relishing in the feeling of safety he always felt when he was in Dom's arms. He had been missing this over the last few weeks and the brief contact on the train hadn't been near enough.

Dom let out a snort. "It is. If I hadn't been jacking those trucks, none of this would have happened. The FBI wouldn't be gunning for me and Letty wouldn't have needed to get involved with Braga."

Brian tensed.

"What's wrong?" Dom asked, pulling back enough to look at Brian's face.

"Nothing," Brian said.

Dom smacked his ass. "No more lies, Buster. What's wrong."

Brian looked to the side. "If you hadn't been jacking those trucks, we never would have met," he said softly. "And I know that would be better for you, because I-"

"Hey!" Dom said sharply, smacking his ass again. "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. I regret a lot of things about the last six years, but the one thing I don't regret is the chance to meet you. I could never regret that. I didn't realize something was missing in my life until you showed up and slid right in, as if you'd been there all along. I don't regret that. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me and I can't apologize enough for what I did nine months ago. I shouldn't have broken up with you."

"It's okay, Dom," Brian said, trying to deflect the guilt he could hear in Dom's voice.

"No, it's not, Brian. I should have learned my lesson after what happened to Letty, but I didn't and I hurt you because of it. I'm sorry." Dom pulled him in for a gentle kiss, cradling the back of his head in one massive hand. Despite his own guilt, Brian couldn't help but sink into Dom's arms, losing himself in the kiss.

One of the Muscles began to stir, pulling their attention away from each other.

"We should go find Mia," Brian said, not quite able to bring himself to meet Dom's eyes.

He felt Dom studying him for a long moment before he nodded. "Yeah," Dom said, leading the way out of the warehouse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Word Count:** 3,805/? **  
Author's Note:** Hey, Y'all. First of all, I apologize that I didn't get this chapter up last week. I had a friend in town and ended up forgetting all about posting. Second of all, I hope you enjoy. I kinda had fun with parts of this chapter. :D

Let me know what y'all think.  
Fae

* * *

Chapter Four  
They finally made it back to the warehouse about three hours later, taking a circuitous path, just in case anyone was following them. Brian knew they weren't, but now wasn't the time to explain all of that. They bypassed Vince's house, heading up to the top of the favela to the garage Vince owned.

Brian didn't like this at all. Blake was scrambling the e-trail, but if Vince had worked with these guys before, they probably already knew about it.

Still, he still felt that his relationship with Dom was on shaky ground and he wasn't going to risk upsetting the status quo by questioning Vince's loyalty. That's what had driven the wedge between Vince and Dom six years ago in LA and there was no way Brian was risking that.

Fortunately Chase and the others were keeping an eye on the surrounding hill and would give him a heads up if anyone came looking who wasn't supposed to be there.

Dom paused with his hand on the door. "I meant what I said back there," he said. "I'm not mad at you, Bri."

"Yeah, sure," Brian said, not really meaning it, but whatever. If it made Dom feel better to say it again, then fine.

Dom searched his face for a long moment and Brian tried to show him whatever it was he wanted to see. Since he had no idea what exactly that was, he was pretty sure he failed. Still, Dom let it go and opened the door, stepping back and motioning Brian in first.

"Mia?" Brian called when he saw the car but no Mia.

She came out from behind a pillar. "Hey," she said, giving him a tight hug. "You're all right."

"Yeah. You all right?" he asked, holding her at arms' length and checking her over for any injuries. Blake would have let him know, but he still felt better checking for himself. As soon as he had assured himself that she was okay, he stepped back, letting her go to Dom.

When Dom pulled back, he caught sight of the wrench in her hand and he took it from her with a grin. "Yeah," he said. "Just like a Toretto."

She sent him a matching grin and Brian smirked. It wasn't healthy or normal for them to joke about something like that, considering the sort of damage Dom had once done with a wrench, but then again, he _wasn't_ normal.

"Where's Vince?" Mia asked, glancing over Dom's shoulder.

Brian met Dom's gaze. "That's a good question," he said, speaking to both Dom and Chase.

 _"We haven't been able to pick Coyote up on traffic cams. Wherever he is, he's hiding good,"_ Misaki said. _"Jayne and River are out searching on foot."_

 _"We'll let you know if we find anything,_ " Rakel said.

"He'll be here," Dom said, a slight warning note in his voice and Brian let the subject drop.

Mia glanced between the two of them, noting the tension, but unable to make out what it is. "Guys, we're all over the news," she said, changing the subject. "They're blaming us for the killing of those DEA Agents on the train."

Brian sighed. "Which means we just jumped to the top of the most wanted list. The Feds have got to show everyone that their agents are off limits. They're gonna send their best guys. We gotta get out of here."

 _"I've got feelers out, and Simon's checking on their end. I'll let you know as soon as they confirm who they're sending,_ " Chase said.

Dom went over and started circling the Mustang. "One thing we know for sure is that they want this car."

Brian glanced at him before looking at the car himself. "'cause something's in it," he said.

Dom nodded. "We find out what it is, we know what we're up against."

Brian looked at Mia before shrugging and joining Dom at the car. He wasn't wrong. They hadn't gotten near enough information from the guy at the warehouse so the car was the only option they had. It just made Brian uncomfortable to stay here much longer. There weren't many options if they were surrounded and it set him on edge.

All three of them worked on the car in silence. Mia may not work on cars as much as the guys did, but she was still a Toretto and she knew enough to be helpful in stripping a car. As they worked, he could feel both of them sending concerned glances his way, but he studiously ignored them. He wasn't in the mood to deal with answering any questions right now.

No matter what Dom said, Brian knew this was his fault. If only he had seen those agents earlier, he could have called the whole thing off and they wouldn't be in this mess.

No, that wasn't entirely true.

He was pretty sure they would still be in this mess right now because he hadn't put the pieces together fast enough back in LA last year when Letty came to him about Braga. He was going to be kicking himself for that for forever. There was no way some drug lord like Braga could have slid under the radar for so long without having the backing of someone a lot more powerful than him.

And yeah, maybe there hadn't been anything he could have done to keep the other drivers alive on his and Dom's run to Mexico, but he could have done more to protect Letty. He still wasn't sure if Braga had known that they and Letty were undercover for the FBI or if they were just supposed to be disposed of like all the other drivers. After the way things went down with Letty's run, he and Ali had decided it was a coincidence.

After Owen picked Letty up out in the desert, Brian wasn't so sure.

He was about seventy-five percent certain that Owen or his brother had known who he was. Neither one of them had come outright and actually said anything, of course, and they had let him continue with his cover in tact, but there had been something about the way that Ian looked at him the first time they met that had set off every single one of Brian's alarm bells.

If Owen had known that Brian was a narc, then chances were high that he had known Letty was a CI, which means she would have been specifically targeted anyway, even if Fenix hadn't had standing orders to kill all the drivers.

Either way, with Letty over with Owen, even if Brian had bought freedom and immunity for the four of them like he had been planning, they still would have had to play it out as if they weren't free. They would have had to play things out the way they would have if Letty had actually died.

That meant a conviction and life sentence for Dom, rogue agent and fugitive status for Brian, a grave and death certificate for Letty and a life on the run for Mia, even after Dom had worked so hard to keep her out of things.

The only silver lining to this whole mess was that he hadn't had to go crawling back to the Center to earn their freedom. He never would have gotten free if he had had to do that. Instead, he had been able to work out a deal with Penning and Bilkins so that this whole thing was one massive deep cover op for him and Letty.

God, they were going to kill him for this mess.

And this whole thing was killing him a little more inside each day, just as much as the initial Shaw op had. He hated keeping secrets from Dom like this. He hated lying, even if it was just by omission. As Dom had pointed out on the way to Mexico, lying by omission was still lying.

He just wanted to shout the truth from the rooftops. He wanted Dom and Mia to know that Letty wasn't dead and that they weren't actually as wanted as everyone believed. That the FBI did actually honor the deals that they made and didn't screw people over when they delivered on their end of the bargain. That they could go home to Echo Park.

He wanted to tell this new guy and his goons to fuck off and the coming Feds to suck it.

But he couldn't. He was stuck in this shithole, waiting for the other shoe to drop because of Vince and his 'friends'. And, yeah, he was going to do the whole air quotes thing, even if it was just in his head.

 _"So I got information on who the boss is. Hernan Reyes and it appears he runs Rio. From what I can tell without doing more digging, he's got a hand in anything illegal that happens in the city- possibly farther out. I can't tell how Coyote managed to get himself tangled up in all of this, but it isn't good. You're going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place: the big guns from the States and the guy who runs the city."_

Great. As if they weren't already dealing with enough shit as it was. Seriously, he was going to _kill_ Vince when he finally saw the other guy again. Dumbass really needed to learn to pick his friends better. Whatever had happened to him since LA hadn't necessarily been for the better.

Sure, Rosa was good for him, but the rest of it was bad news.

Brian couldn't find it in himself to feel guilty about that, though. Like he had told Vince the night before, he had been doing his job. Unfortunately, that job had put him in conflict with Vince's family, but that was their own damn fault. They were the ones committing felony hijackings. But Brian had made his choice and he didn't regret it for a second. He would do it again in a heartbeat.

He was pulling apart the engine with Mia sitting close by, watching him. He knew she was worried about what was going on, along with the tension between him and Dom. She had been in overprotective mother hen mode since the day she had found him sitting in the dark living room, staring blankly into space after Dom had broken up with him.

Even after Ecuador. Just as he had been overly protective of her, she had gotten even more protective of him, too. He supposed it made her feel more in control to fuss over him, so he didn't stop her from doing it, no matter how annoying he was starting to find it. He was a big boy. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. He didn't need her to take care of him when she needed to be focused on taking care of herself.

 _"Coyote incoming,_ " Blake said.

About damned time the other man showed up. Now Brian could kick his ass. He tightened his grip on the pipe he was fiddling with.

"Brian," Mia said, distracting him slightly. "I have something I have to tell you."

He looked up at her, but before she could actually tell him, the door opened. All three of them turned their attention in that direction, though Brian kept fiddling with the car, trying to keep a grip on his anger.

"Goddamn. What a mess."

Brian glanced at Vince before looking back down at his hands. "Where you been, Man?" he asked, unable to keep the belligerent tone completely out of his voice.

"You better check that tone," Vince said in what he probably thought was a threatening voice, pointing at Brian.

And there was no way he was taking that sitting down. He stood up and took a couple of steps in Vince's direction. "And you just better answer the goddamn question," he said, glaring at Vince.

"Stop it. Both of you," Mia said, doing what she did best and getting between the two of them, playing peacekeeper. And that wasn't fair of any of them to keep putting her in that position, but she was a Toretto. It wasn't easy to keep her out of things.

"Where were you, Vince?" Dom asked, staring intently into the engine and pretending as if he hadn't been just as uneasy by Vince's absence as Brian was.

"Guys are all over the favela asking about you. I couldn't get out of there without leading them straight to you. Had to wait 'em out."

 _"Bullshit. He hasn't been near the favela since he and Simba left this morning to meet the train_ ," Chase said.

And that was good enough for Brian. He pushed passed Mia, heading for Vince. "That is such horseshit. That was your job!"

"Hey!" Mia exclaimed, slipping back in front of him and grabbing his arm, trying to slow him down.

"Enough, O'Conner!" Dom yelled, standing up and moving closer so he was in a better position to intervene if Brian pushed it. "If he said he didn't do it, he didn't do it." He stared at Brian for a long moment and was apparently fed up with the attitude. "Go walk it off," he ordered, pointing towards the back of the building.

Brian glowered at both of them for a moment longer before shaking Mia off and stalking away, fuming. Oh, how the tables turn. He just knew that Vince was enjoying this, the fucker. Having the tables turned so that _Brian_ was the one on the outs with Dom while Vince was once again the trusted lieutenant.

Yeah, okay, maybe things hadn't gotten off on the best foot between them, but hadn't Brian proved enough times that he only had Dom's best interests in mind? He had thrown his entire life away for the man. Twice. Couldn't Dom see that Brian was just trying to protect them and keep everyone safe since he had failed with Letty?

He punched the wall, not even noticing the sting in his knuckles.

The problem was that he knew all three of them would see this as the reverse of LA, with Brian jealous of Vince worming his way back into the family. Except it wasn't like that at all. Brian really didn't care if Vince was back. He knew Dom and Vince had been best friends since third grade and he understood that Dom was glad to have his best friend back.

It was just that Brian was thinking like the cop he was. Had been. Whatever. The point was that he was thinking about all of the potential security risks posed by bringing in an outsider.

And, yeah, maybe Vince had been there first, but he had left. He could have stuck around LA and kept an eye on Mia. It's not like the op had left any viable evidence against the team. The police had just wanted to talk to him about why he was bleeding out on the side of the road. He could have bull-shitted his way out of that.

Or if LA had too many bad memories, he could have joined Dom and Letty down in the Dominican Republic. He didn't have to freefall through South America and land here in Rio. Sure, Rosa and Nico had settled him some, but Vince had been on his own for too long. He wasn't smart enough to keep his ass out of trouble.

That was the difference between him and Brian. Brian didn't go looking for trouble. It found him. It always had. It didn't matter if he started out with the best of intentions. Something always happened and the whole thing went to shit.

Besides, Brian had never put Mia directly in danger like this. Sure, the bus break was dangerous and had led to them being on the run, but they could deal with that. Now she had Reyes and his goons gunning for her in order to get to Dom and Brian. And on the other side, she had whoever the US was going to send to hunt them down.

"Don't like having the shoe on the other foot?"

"This isn't about that," Brian snapped, rounding on Dom. The other man was standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest as he watched Brian. "I know what you're thinking and I'm not jealous that he's back. I don't _care_ that he's part of the family again. He's your oldest friend. I get that. I really do."

"Then what is this about, Buster?" Dom asked, taking a few measured steps so he was leaning against the wall and no longer caging Brian into the storage room he had taken refuge in.

"I let you down, Dom. Six years ago in LA. Last year with Letty. Two months ago in Ecuador. And now this? He's throwing a wrench into the works. If you want him back, fine. He can come back and I'll stay silent. But with the Feds and the locals both gunning for us, he has to come clean. I can't protect you guys if I don't know all the variables."

Dom frowned. "It's my job to protect my family, Brian. Not yours."

Brian shook his head and turned away. "It is," he protested. It was all he had left after the Center. He had to protect Dom and his family or what else was he? An adrenaline junkie with way too much blood on his hands? He wanted to be more than that; needed to be more than that.

Dom crowded up behind him, putting his hands on Brian's hips. "It's not, Boy," he said in a low voice. "It's mine. You've done enough. You kept me out of prison. You've looked after my sister. I never thanked you for taking care of the problem in Ecuador. And don't lie to me. I know that was you. You've been taking care of me and mine, even when you had no reason to. Now it's my turn to take care of you. Let me do my job, Buster. You focus on taking care of Mia and keep an ear out for any word on who's coming from the States. Let me worry about Vince."

"I can't, Dom," Brian said, shaking his head, but relaxing in Dom's arms and resting against his boyfriend's chest. "I'm a cop, okay? I may not have been very good at it, but I can't just turn it off completely. The instincts and training are still there. I can't just make it stop just because I went rogue."

"I'm not asking you to turn it off, Brian. I made you mine, knowing full well that you were a cop and that there would always be a piece of you that would be. But you told me what the problem was and now I'll deal with it. You're right. Vince is a loose cannon. He always has been, but it's even worse now that you've taken his place and _he's_ the outsider. I'm keeping an eye on him. But I need you to trust me."

Brian turned in Dom's arms so he could look at his boyfriend. "I do," he said softly. "I just-" He trialed off with a hopeless sigh. He didn't know how to explain it without telling Dom about the Center and he wasn't ready to do that. Not yet.

"It's different having Mia here," Dom said, filling in the blank. That wasn't exactly what Brian had been trying to explain, but it was as good an explanation as any. It was even true, to a point. "That's why I always tried to keep her out of everything."

"I'm-"

Dom put one finger on Brian's mouth, cutting him off. "Don't," he said with a stern look. "Don't you dare apologize for her being here. I'm the one who dragged my family into this mess. If anyone's to blame for her presence, it's me. Not you. When I heard that Charger coming, I knew. I knew it was you, once again coming to my rescue. And as much as I still see her as the little girl studying in the corner while Dad and I worked on the Charger, she's a big girl. She knows her own mind and she's always been able to outstubborn all of us, even me. I didn't expect you to be any different. And what happened in Ecuador could have happened anywhere. You had no way of knowing and you took care of it afterwards."

Brian didn't have anything to say to that because he knew it was true. He had seen the statistics while still on the force and he knew it happened just as often in LA as it did elsewhere in the world. "I just wish there was more I could do to make this go away. I hate feeling helpless, like my hands are tied."

"You didn't seem to mind it too bad up in Panama."

Brian ducked his head, biting back a grin at the reminder. "That's different," he said. "I trust you. And I know that if anything got out of control, you'd let me go. This is- This is out of both of our control."

"Yeah," Dom agreed. The two of them stood in silence for a long moment. "Come on," Dom said, smacking him lightly on the ass. "Let's get back to the others before Mia worries we've killed each other." He pulled back just enough to give Brian a light kiss before turning and heading back out to the main room.

Brian stared after him until Dom was out of sight before running a hand over his face with a sigh. If only they were alone, he thought, longingly.

 _"Rajah wants you to know that that is way more than she wanted to know about your relationship with Simba,_ " Misaki relayed, _"and that she's glad she's halfway around the world."_

Brian managed a grin. "Tell Rajah that I still owe her an ass kicking for going against my advice and joining Shaw, and that I'd be more than happy to add a second one for the teasing. It's not appreciated."

The com was silent for a long moment while Misaki passed the message over to Austin who would pass it on to Letty.

 _"She says that she's been training with Zoe and that she's looking forward to seeing you try."_

"It'll take more than that for her to beat me," Brian muttered under his breath as he rejoined the others out in the main room.

 _"She thinks she's up for the challenge,_ " Misaki said after another short pause.

Brian allowed himself a brief grin before clicking his tongue lightly to signal that he was no longer alone and wouldn't be replying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Word Count:** 2,166/?  
 **Author's Note:** Hey, Everyone. I know I said that I would update every two weeks, but life happens and that just hasn't worked out. Not only that, but this is the last chapter that I have prewritten and I don't know how soon I'll be able to make something work for the next chapter. I'm going to TRY to update once a month, but I make no promises.

Again, I apologize for the delay and hope that y'all enjoy.  
Fae

* * *

Chapter 05  
The second half of the afternoon was even more awkward than the first half had been. Brian spent the afternoon deliberately ignoring Vince, although it was easier said than done. The other man thought Brian was sulking over Dom siding with Vince instead of Brian and as a result, he was gloating.

Vince just needed to grow up. Brian hadn't gloated back in LA. Not only was that six years ago, Brian was three years younger than Vince. If he was mature enough not to gloat back then, then Vince should be, too, especially since it wasn't a competition.

Vince was the best friend and Brian was the boyfriend. Those were two entirely different positions in Dom's life. If anyone had the right to feel threatened by Brian's presence in Dom's life, it was Letty, not Vince. And Letty didn't have a problem with it.

Brian got to the point where he couldn't deal with the tension anymore so he ducked out for about an hour to get food.

It probably would have been better if one of the other three had gone, considering that he stood out from the local population the most. Vince would have been the least suspicious of the four of them, since he lived in the area.

The problem with that was that Brian didn't trust him wandering around out there on his own. There was already enough time unaccounted for where Vince was away from them. Apparently Dom didn't fully trust him, either, because the older man had distracted Vince with the car or conversation or something whenever it looked like Vince was going to head out.

They did need food, though, and there was no way either of them were letting Mia wander around Rio to get it. Dom would have been the best choice, but Brian had needed to get out of there before he said or did something he would end up regretting.

So he had looked at Dom and they had carried on a silent conversation before Brian headed out, leaving a gloating Vince behind.

Yeah, his coloring may make him stand out from the locals, but he had some advantages that the others didn't and he could disappear if he wanted to. Not only that, but he was the best able to take care of himself if something came up.

Besides, he needed to talk to the others. "Anything new?" he asked when he was far enough away from the garage.

 _"From what River has overheard, they're giving Coyote a chance before they send in the goons,"_ Chase said. _"She hasn't heard anything about what exactly they're looking for. Hopefully you guys can figure it out."_

"If there's something in the car that doesn't belong, we'll find it," Brian said. "Anything from Simon?"

 _"There's only one agency that really has any authority in a case like this. Considering how high profile you and Simba are, who do you think they're going to send?"_ Misaki asked, though it was more rhetorical than anything.

Brian sighed. "The Terminator," he said. "I was afraid of that. And he never goes anywhere without his dog. I can take one or the other. I can't take both at the same time. One will keep me occupied while the other corrals Simba and Persia. Once they've got those two secured, they've got me, too, because I won't risk them."

 _"They don't know that, though,_ " Blake said.

"Yeah, they do. The Terminator was my handler and his dog is like me. Together, they're like me and Simba, or Zoe and Mal. Considering everything I've done for Simba, it won't be that hard for anyone with half a brain to figure out what he is to me. And the Terminator is many things, but stupid isn't one of them. He might get blinded by tunnel vision, but he's not dumb muscle. He perpetuates the impression because it leaves him underestimated, but that just makes him even more dangerous."

 _"I'll bow to your insider knowledge,"_ Blake said, although he sounded skeptical.

"You should," Brian said, distractedly, as he approached the market. There wasn't a lot of pre-made or ready-to-eat food, but he was able to scrounge up enough for supper that night and breakfast the next morning. Something told him that they wouldn't be hanging around the garage much longer than that.

Reyes' men were familiar enough with Vince to know where the place was and even if the other man didn't do something monumentally stupid in the next twenty-four hours, the goon squad would come down on them regardless. They really wanted that car.

And like he said, Hobbs wasn't stupid. He'd track them to the garage soon enough and the sooner they moved on, the safer they'd be. Even if nothing happened on either front, Brian would suggest to Dom that they find a new hideout once they figured out what was in the car that was so damn important.

He did some scouting of his own on his way back up to the garage. It wasn't that he didn't trust Blake and Rakel; it was just that he felt better checking things out for himself, something he had picked up at the Academy almost eight years ago and had never fully let go of.

Back at the garage, the four of them ate and continued breaking down the car. Vince kept trying to bait him, but he refused to give in, centering himself and running through some mental exercises that Ali had suggested to him in an effort to maintain his cool.

Finally- _finally_ \- it was late enough to go to bed, which meant that Brian didn't have to deal with Vince's superiority any longer. Mia gave Dom a hug and kiss goodnight before disappearing into the office she had claimed for the night.

Brian met Dom's gaze and saw the regret in his boyfriend's eyes as Dom nodded pointedly at the door Mia had disappeared through. Brian gave a mental sigh. As much as he loved Mia, he didn't want to share a room with her tonight. After the day they'd had, he just wanted to sleep in Dom's arms.

He didn't even want anything tonight. He just wanted the reassurance of being close to his boyfriend.

But with Vince here and the locals gunning for them, he didn't have much of a choice, so he reluctantly followed Mia. "Night, Dom," he said.

"Brian."

"Vince," Brian said, managing to keep his voice as neutral as possible in an effort to be the bigger man. He caught sight of the approving look on Dom's face out of the corner of his eye.

"Brian," Vince replied, his voice smug.

Brian narrowed his eyes, but forced himself to walk away, closing the door behind him and leaving Dom and Vince alone in the main room.

"Hey," Mia said, wrapping her arms around his waist and looking up at him intently. "Are you okay?"

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "No, I'm not," he said. "And before you start in on me, too, I'm not jealous that he's back. We've got two totally different places in Dom's life and heart. Vince isn't a threat to me. I just- You and Dom are in danger and I can't protect you if he's not being honest with us. Now he may not have known the cars were seized, but those guys were far more connected than the typical car thieves. That card reader, for example. They shouldn't have had access to that sort of tech if they were just into GTA. I should have said no when they gave it to us, but I thought I could handle it. I'm just stressing out over everything, trying to keep you guys safe."

"Hey," she said gently, reaching up and stroking his cheek. "We'll get through this. Dom'll get Vince straightened out."

"I really hope so, Mia."

"Come on. Let's go to bed." She led him over to the couch and gently pushed him down.

He laid down on his back and she stretched out on top of him, half wedged between him and the back of the couch, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Go to sleep, Brian," she said, kissing his cheek before closing her eyes.

Sleep. That was easier said than done. He didn't think he'd be getting much sleep until they got this mess cleaned up and high tailed it out of Brazil. Someone had to keep them safe and, contrary to what Dom said, it _was_ Brian's job.

It was his penance for everything he had done to this family.

He wasn't sure how long he had been lying there, staring at the ceiling when he heard raised voices out in the other room. He glanced at the door, his muscles tensing. Mia began to stir and he rubbed her back, trying to focus on what was going on in the other room. The noise was muffled and he couldn't really make out what was being said.

There was a loud smack and Dom yelled in anger while Vince yelled in- fear, almost. Nervousness, at least. Not that Brian could completely blame him. An angry Dom was quite terrifying, especially if that anger was focused entirely on you.

Mia got up and opened the door, with Brian trailing behind her. "What is going on out here?" she asked, squinting slightly against the light.

The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Dom looked over at Mia and Brian. "Nothing," he said, moving away from Vince and back over towards the car.

"Please, Dom," Vince said, staying where he was leaning against the pillar. "Just let me have the chip. I can take this to them. They'll give it to Reyes and set things right."

"Get out," Dom said, not looking at anyone.

"What?"

"Get out!" he yelled, rounding on Vince.

"You never listen to me," Vince said, staring at Dom in betrayal. "Not when I told you he was a cop."

Vince pointed at Brian and Dom turned to look at him. Brian met Dom's gaze, trying to apologize for driving another wedge between the two best friends.

"Not now," Vince continued. "You never trust me. And look where it's gotten us. Look at our family now. I can't go home."

Sure he could. He never had to leave in the first place. Nobody had anything on him that he couldn't have bullshitted his way out of. Leaving may have increased the suspicion, but not enough to get him in trouble if he went back.

"Your sister's stuck in this life."

Okay, he had a point there. And, yeah, Brian hated that Mia had gotten dragged into this, but like Dom had said earlier, when Mia put her mind to something, there wasn't anything anyone could do to talk her out of it.

"Where's Letty, Dom? Where's Letty?"

Brian drew in a sharp breath at the reminder, feeling like he had been punched in the stomach. Mia wrapped her arms around him, correctly guessing that he was feeling guilty, but incorrectly identifying the reason for his guilt. His guilt came from misleading them into thinking that she was dead when she was very much alive, instead of feeling responsible for her death.

Dom looked away from everyone again, staring into a dark corner of the garage. Vince stared at him for a moment and cast one last hate-filled glare in Brian's direction before storming out of the garage.

No one moved for a long moment before Mia gave Brian a squeeze and kissed his cheek. She met his gaze and nodded at Dom, then disappeared back into the office. Brian remained where he was, just watching his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry," he said finally.

"Not your fault, Bri," Dom said. "This is between me and Vince and is only partly about you. What happened in LA forced everyone to grow up. Unfortunately for Vince, he didn't."

"Still," Brian said. "I didn't want to make you choose."

"You didn't," Dom said, turning to look at him. "He did, just like he did six years ago. I don't like being told what to do. Giving me an ultimatum means I'm not going to choose you, something he has yet to learn, while you always knew that."

"You wanna see what's on that chip?" Brian asked after a moment, wanting to change the subject.

"In the morning. We both need sleep."

Brian nodded. "We shouldn't stay too long. If he's worked with them before, chances are they know about this place."

"We'll check it out first thing in the morning, after we eat," Dom agreed, moving over and wrapping his arms around Brian's waist.

He hesitated a moment before allowing himself to relax into Dom's arms, resting his forehead on Dom's shoulder. "Early," he said.

"Early," Dom agreed. "Come on. Let's go to bed."


	6. Chapter 6

**Word Count:** 2,425/?

 **Author's Count:** Hey, Y'all. First, I want to apologize for how long it's been since I posted the last chapter. It was kinda a combination of being distracted by a shiny new fandom and not being sure what exactly I wanted to do with the chapter. I decided to make this story one of my projects for the July session of Camp NaNo, so hopefully that will keep me working on it and giving you updates more regularly.

This chapter is still mostly following the movie, but with Brian's thoughts about everything and some added commentary from the support team. Things should start drifting away from the movie within the next couple of chapters. I was thinking of maybe replacing Rico and Tego with Blake and Rakel, but I haven't fully decided yet.

Anyway, enjoy.  
Fae

* * *

Chapter 06

The next morning, Brian woke in Dom's arms and just lay there for a moment. They hadn't had this closeness since before Ecuador and he had missed it. It helped ground his senses and keep him in the moment, instead of lost in his head.

That was something he had always struggled with, getting lost in his head, and it had only gotten worse after the Centre. He hadn't been able to get lost in his head around Dom, though. The man was too complex and volatile. He had to stay in the now and keep all of his wits about him.

He had hoped that things would be better after they got together, but fucking Shaw had ruined that and now this mess with Vince. He couldn't let his guard down, no matter how much Dom wanted him to. He just wasn't wired that way and until they were clear and back in LA, he wasn't going to relax.

Dom's arm tightened around his waist. "Out of your head, Buster," he rumbled, his lips brushing the back of Brian's neck.

He shivered slightly. "Can't," he said. "Not until we're clear."

Dom pushed himself up onto one elbow, rolling Brian onto his back and hovering over him. "What part of 'not your responsibility' isn't getting through your brain?" he asked.

Brian gave a self-deprecating grin. "'m trying," he said. "But it's easier said than done."

Dom leaned down and kissed him. "Try harder." He moved so he was more on top of Brian, who let his legs part, welcoming Dom's weight on top of him.

Brian ran his hands down Dom's back as the older man kissed him, eagerly participating, but letting Dom control the kiss. When Dom began pressing kisses down Brian's jaw, he let his head fall back, baring his neck and letting his eyes fall shut.

" _Yo, Lover Boy. The Terminator's had boots on the ground in Rio as of oh-two-thirty. You should get up and moving."_

Brian didn't want to move, but he knew that they needed to get out of there soon. "Dom," he said, reluctantly.

Dom sighed and rested his forehead against Brian's shoulder for a moment before pressing one last kiss to the underside of Brian's jaw and pushing himself up. He offered a hand and Brian accepted, letting his boyfriend help him to his feet.

"We've gotta find out what's on that chip, then we gotta get out of here," Brian said as they changed into fresh shirts.

"We got time to eat first," Dom said, leading the way out into the main room where Mia was already eating some of what Brian had brought back the day before. Both men gave her a kiss on the cheek before getting food of their own.

Twenty minutes later, Brian sat at a makeshift desk and turned on the GPS unit, activating the chip while Dom and Mia crowded around behind him so they could see as well.

"What do you think?" Mia asked as Brian scanned the map and numbers.

He had seen this before, albeit not to quite the same extent. But he definitely knew what this was, and man were they screwed.

"It's definitely a custom chip," he said, reaching up to point at the menu on the side of the screen. "Look at all these side menus here for data entry. So check this." He pressed one of the buttons that brought up the route on the screen. "Same buildings, same order every week."

"It's a delivery schedule," Dom said, realizing what Brian had known since the train heist. They were in way over their heads.

"What's this?" Mia asked, pressing another button. A new bunch of numbers came up. "Guns?"

"No," Brian said, shaking his head. "No, that's a dealer pack." He turned to look at the Torettos, both of whom were looking at him in confusion. He sighed. That was the one thing he did miss about officially working for an agency. People knew what he was talking about when he mentioned something like this.

He was a little surprised that Dom didn't know what he meant, though, running the streets of LA like he had. Then again, he supposed that was a good thing. Criminal hijacker with a record for aggravated assault he could deal with. Drugs were a whole other kettle of fish and where he drew the line in his virtually non-existent code of morals.

"See, most major players weigh their money so they don't have to constantly count it. Right there, that's forty-nine kilos. Forty-nine kilos is a million in twenties."

Mia looked at him in disbelief while Dom just took the information in and assessed it. "So you're saying each one of these shipments is worth- ten million dollars," Mia said, leaning closer to make sure she was seeing the numbers correctly.

"Yeah," Brian said, nodding. "So that's, what? A hundred million in cash houses?" He turned back to Dom, wondering what his boyfriend wanted to do with this information.

" _That is a hell of a lot of cash,"_ Chase said.

" _Which means you're in a hell of a lot of trouble,"_ Misaki added.

Yeah. He knew that. And he could see that the knowledge was starting to hit Mia, too.

" _Double trouble heading your way,_ " Blake said. _"Reyes' goons are almost to your location."_

" _And the Terminator is a few minutes behind them,_ " Rakel said.

"That's how he keeps it off the grid," Dom said.

Brian nodded. "I think it's safe to say that Reyes is smart to want this back. I mean, it's his whole network laid out right there on one chip."

Mia looked ready to ask something, but a noise just outside the door caught their attention. All three of them looked in that direction for a moment before melting into the shadows inside the garage. Dom and Brian locked eyes and Dom silently ordered him to take Mia and get out of there.

Brian was reluctant to leave. They would be better served to have Dom and Mia leave while he stayed behind to deal with the goons, but he still hadn't had a chance to explain what he now was to Dom and this wasn't the way he wanted it to come out.

Besides, it's not like he actually had time to argue over it.

As the door opened, he gave Mia a boost up and through the open windows at the top of the wall, following after him. One of the goons must have seen the movement out of the corner of their eye because they opened fire. The two of them dropped to the ground outside.

Brian took Mia's hand and pulled her along, slowing his pace so that she could keep up with him as they raced through the favela, weaving between houses, racing across rooftops.

They ran through one alley into another and Mia turned right. Brian was two steps behind her and rammed his shoulder into the goon that came around from the left. He forced the gun up so it fired harmlessly into the air before lashing back with one leg, kicking the second goon in the stomach.

While the second one was doubled over, gasping for air, Brian quickly snapped the neck of the first one before moving to do the same to the second before he had time to regroup.

He looked up to find that Mia had paused and was staring at him, an odd expression on her face. He ignored it and gently pushed her forward. "Go, go, go," he said. He knew there were more goons behind them and that if they stayed in one place for long, they'd get shot, or worse.

They continued weaving through the favela and ran up a flight of steps to the rooftops. Another goon was up there, although fortunately, he was looking in the other direction. Brian took the opportunity afforded by his inattention and quickly snapped his neck.

Unfortunately, there were more goons two rooftops over who immediately gave chase. Brian and Mia began running the other direction, down the rooftops and leaping over the alleys between them. The goons were shooting at them, but their aim suffered since they were also running and jumping between rooftops. That played in Brian and Mia's favor.

At least, it did until they reached a rooftop at the edge of the favela. The next roof was two stories below them, while the one to their left was a story taller than the one they were on. There was no building to their right, leaving them with two options: jump, or go back.

A glance behind them revealed that the three goons were closing on them and it would be too close for comfort if they went back and tried to find another way. They looked at each other and Brian knew they had no choice. He took Mia's hand and pulled her back away from the edge.

He took one last look at the goons quickly closing the distance between them, then back at Mia. She steeled her expression and nodded.

"Let's go," he said, making sure he kept hold of her hand as they got a running start and leaped off the edge of the building. They crashed through the roof and into the house below.

Someone screamed, but Brian didn't give himself time to look around. He jumped to his feet and helped Mia up, ushering her out the door. They stayed pressed up alongside the buildings to hide their movement from the goons above them. Finally, Brian found what he was looking for: a draining grate.

It wouldn't be pretty, but it would give them cover and lead them down and away from the favela. He pulled at the grate, letting Mia enter in front of him. He took one last look around, searching for any sign of Dom, before following Mia.

They followed the drain for a while until they reached a junction where five smaller pipes merged into one larger one that continued down towards the exit. They stopped there and Mia leaned against the wall a little ways down the larger pipe while Brian remained at the junction.

If Dom were anywhere near as smart as Brian believed him to be, he would eventually make his way here, not to mention that the way the pipes echoed, he could hear anyone coming well before they actually got to him.

They only had to wait about thirty minutes before he heard someone coming. Whoever it was wasn't moving very quickly and sounded as though they were alone, but Brian wasn't taking any chances. He looked over his shoulder at Mia and was glad to see that she was standing up, ready to run if she had to.

Brian turned back to the other pipes and closed his eyes to pinpoint which one the movement was coming from. Once he had that, he pressed up against the wall next to that pipe so he could catch whoever it was off guard.

The other person stopped just before entering the main pipe and Brian risked a glance around the corner. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Dom.

"Dom," he said, stepping into the middle of the tunnel.

"Brian," Dom said. He moved closer and wrapped a hand around Brian's neck, pressing their foreheads together for a moment before stepping back. "Mia?" he asked.

Brian nodded down the main pipe where Mia was standing, smiling at the two of them. The two men quickly joined her and she hugged her brother before they all began making their way down the main pipe.

It took maybe two hours before they finally reached the exit and found themselves in a low creek that looked like it was some distance outside the city.

While Dom looked around at their surroundings, Brian was listening to the update from Blake and Rakel.

" _The Terminator and his dog took out most of the goons, with a little help from one of the local cops, an Elena Neves. Inara is running the background on her. River took out two more while I herded Simba towards the drainage system. It looks like one of the goons was able to get away and is headed back to his master,"_ Blake said.

" _It was the leader,"_ Rakel added.

That meant it was probably the guy that Brian had mentally dubbed 'Twitchy' seeing as he really didn't care to learn the guy's name. Not when the dude was going to have to die if they were going to get out of this in one piece.

Dom finally turned back to them and Brian tuned out the voices in his head. "They're gonna be lookin' for the three of us together now. We need to split up. You and Mia head south. I'll lead them away."

Brian really didn't like that plan. He and Dom were stronger together and he could handle anyone who came after the three of them. If they went their separate ways, he couldn't protect them.

"No," Mia said.

Brian looked at Dom and saw the determination in his boyfriend's eyes. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to convince Dom to let them stay together. Not right now. So instead he turned to Mia.

"Dom's right," he said, even though he really didn't want to. "We got lucky just now. What happens next time? We got no choice but to split up."

"I'm pregnant," Mia said.

Both men stared at her.

" _Oh boy. That's a complication you don't need right now,_ " Chase said.

 _You're telling me_ , Brian thought sarcastically.

"I already lost my family once," Mia continued, looking at the two of them with glistening eyes. "I'm not going through that again."

"Are you kidding me?" Brian asked, moving closer to Mia.

"No," she said, shaking her head with a half smile.

Brian took a deep breath That changed everything. They couldn't leave her now. He pulled her into his arms. "I'm not going anywhere," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple.

She wrapped her arms around his waist for a moment before turning her head to look at her brother. "Dom. Promise me," she said. "We stick together."

He looked at the two of them for a moment before moving closer. "Promise," he said finally, closing the distance between them and pulling both of them into a hug. "Our family just got bigger," he said with a smile of his own.


End file.
